Rishi Sunak faces a showdown vote on his flagship Rwanda plan next week, as a Tory revolt on the issue grows.
The PM’s premiership has been rocked by the resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick, as he failed to appease the Tory right with his emergency Rwanda bill.
There is growing speculation that Mr Sunak will have to make next week’s vote a confidence issue in the government – threatening his MPs with expulsion if they defy him and help force a general election.
A tetchy Mr Sunak denied that he was ready to make it “back me or sack me” vote at his hastily convened press conference on the growing crisis on Thursday.
However, the embattled Tory leader appeared to appeal to Labour to help him push through his bill in parliament.
“The real question, when it comes to all these votes, if for the Labour Party,” Mr Sunak said: said. “So the real question when it comes to parliament … what are the Labour Party going to do about this vote?”